In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both. He proceeded to write a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair, calling Isabel, a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded and salacious slut pining for seduction. Twain and his daughter, Clara Clemens, then slandered Isabel in the newspapers, erasing her nearly seven years of devoted service to their family. How did Lyon go from being the beloved secretary who ran Twain's life to a woman he was determined to destroy?
In Twain's End, Lynn Cullen cleverly spins a mysterious, dark tale, (Booklist) about the tangled relationships between Twain, Lyon, and Ashcroft, as well as the little-known love triangle between Helen Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, and Anne's husband, John Macy, which comes to light during their visit to Twain's Connecticut home in 1909. Add to the party a furious Clara Clemens, smarting from her own failed love affair, and carefully kept veneers shatter.
Based on Isabel Lyon's extant diary, Twain's writings, letters, photographs, and events in Twain's boyhood that may have altered his ability to love, Twain's End triumphs as âa tender evocation of a vain, complicated man's twilight years and a last chance at loveâ
This book is very interesting and has changed my way of thinking about "America's Sweetheart" Mark Twain. It is about the relationship between Isabel Lyon and Samuel Clemens which turned sour after she married his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft, which he blessed. After one month, he fired both and wrote a ferocious 429 page rant and slandered Isabel and erased her seven years of devoted service to their family. If you love historical biographies, then you would love this book.
In Twain's End, Lynn Cullen cleverly spins a mysterious, dark tale, (Booklist) about the tangled relationships between Twain, Lyon, and Ashcroft, as well as the little-known love triangle between Helen Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, and Anne's husband, John Macy, which comes to light during their visit to Twain's Connecticut home in 1909. Add to the party a furious Clara Clemens, smarting from her own failed love affair, and carefully kept veneers shatter.
Based on Isabel Lyon's extant diary, Twain's writings, letters, photographs, and events in Twain's boyhood that may have altered his ability to love, Twain's End triumphs as âa tender evocation of a vain, complicated man's twilight years and a last chance at loveâ
This book is very interesting and has changed my way of thinking about "America's Sweetheart" Mark Twain. It is about the relationship between Isabel Lyon and Samuel Clemens which turned sour after she married his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft, which he blessed. After one month, he fired both and wrote a ferocious 429 page rant and slandered Isabel and erased her seven years of devoted service to their family. If you love historical biographies, then you would love this book.
This novel is largely derived from the diary of his secretary, Twain's notes and letters and other sources. It shows a side of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens that his fans rarely saw. I believe that his fans even today do not believe that he could be two persons - Mark Twain and Samuel Clemens with two different personalities. Yes, he was a genius with humor and acting before his fans.
The author constructs what she imagines the relationships between his secretary, Isabel V. Lyon; his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft, and Twain himself might have been. The reader discovers that the humorist was controlling and needed to be the center of any situation. Isabel was deeply in love with him and hoped to become his wife but married Ashcroft when Twain kept putting the decision off. Ashcroft's reactions to protect Isabel probably inflamed the famous man. Who was he and what was he like? I think that many famous people have two sides and only a few people see both. Intriguing read that leaves the reader with much food for thought.
The author constructs what she imagines the relationships between his secretary, Isabel V. Lyon; his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft, and Twain himself might have been. The reader discovers that the humorist was controlling and needed to be the center of any situation. Isabel was deeply in love with him and hoped to become his wife but married Ashcroft when Twain kept putting the decision off. Ashcroft's reactions to protect Isabel probably inflamed the famous man. Who was he and what was he like? I think that many famous people have two sides and only a few people see both. Intriguing read that leaves the reader with much food for thought.
